Hey Rachel–heck yes there is a double standard! This show would never have been made if it had featured a single mom Bachelorette; they’d never get the advertising support, viewership, or ratings to sustain it. Programmers are smart: they know women viewers are more naturally compassionate and innately inclined to want to step into a family situation (ie with a single dad), whereas most men would not be interested in a single mom bachelorette because she has “baggage”, that is, unless the network marketed her as a really hot MILF, which they wouldn’t stoop to do because that would turn off the female viewers which I’d guess make up 99.9% of the show’s fanbase. So call it whatever you want, a double standard or a Catch-22, but it absolutely exists!

I think it’s absolutely a double standard…but at least it’s being put out there regardless of the gender. There are a few single mom’s on the show – and nobody will dare call them lousy moms for being on the show. For the first time.

It looks like it will be a really entertaining show, but was anybody else creeped out (consistently) at the level of intimacy these women thought they already had with Jason? Ty already has a mom, yet these women are ready to jump right into that role – lots of them saying that is why they are there. They are ready to be a mom. Um, hello – Ty will grow up. I’m a little weirded out that these women are looking to have a family, not find love.

But, I guess that’s what the show is all about…

All I can say, DRAMA! I am looking forward to the season and seeing what will happen with Deanna!

I’m sure there’s a bit of a double standard, but I think we should do a bit of research before damning Mesnick for leaving his kid. I’d give him and the show producers the benefit of a doubt and assume they made arrangements so that dad spent plenty of time with his son, probably even on a daily basis.

I don’t think the double standard you experienced early on was so much single dad vs. single mom — it’s reality TV vs. reality!

We’ve become obsessed with reality TV shows and somehow forget that the people on them aren’t living a real life. So we can watch a show like “The Bachelor” and forget e has a kid at home. Since your kid is ever-present on your blog, in your book and your media presence — aka Real Life — no one can forget that fact.

Still, if you did go on a reaity TV dating show, people would be tsk-tsking, just like some people judged Sarah Palin for not staying home to care for a special needs kid, let alone 4 others and you would NEVER hear that about a male candidate. Moms are expected to be the nurturers, period.

Okay, I saw the show last night and I thought it was kind of lame that the producer of “The Bachelor” would only include 3 to 4 women that were 31 years or older… How unfair was that?? There must have been 20-30 “girls” in there early to mid 20′s…

I know that Jason is in his mid 30′s,but this is exactly the wrong message that us “real” Single Dad’s do not want to see…If he was really serious about finding a wife and a mother to his son, he should not even consider looking at a woman in her 20′s. In my opinion, women at that age are just begining to discover who they are…Needless to say, men are even farther behind in that discovery…
Admittingly so, I made this same mistake with a younger woman, (and me being the “un-discovered” 30-something man) and I can see the same outcome coming to Jason….It’s not a happy ending!

Yah, there’s a double standard. I think the fact that Jason appears to have sole-custody of Ty sends a message about him, and women just eat that up.

I was disappointed with the women as well. Early 20′s & ready to be a step-mom? Sounds unlikely to me, but what do I know. I’m almost 28, am mature for my age (imo) and am not sure I’d even be ready for that.

I believe it is a double-standard. Did you notice that given the opportunity to vote someone off the show, the majority chose a single-mom and then judged her for leaving her 14-month old at home? She got voted off because she was one of the biggest contenders from the start. Then the women justified it by implying she was being negligent to her son. Single moms have just as much right to date and find love as everyone else but yet we are held to differnt standards because we have kids.

I don’t think it’s a double standard. I think it’s almost an anomaly. A single dad…huh? You must admit we rarely hear about “real” single dads(i.e. they have sole custody of their children.) I doubt if I watch but I must confess I did read about him online.

About that sole custody presumption. I can’t say I am watching this show avidly, but I am curious about his child custody status.

Sole custody is extremely rare. When a parent is awarded sole custody, there is always a huge back story. It’ll be interesting to see if he discloses any aspect of this back story. This little guy’s mother did not just conveniently vaporize.

There’s alway double standard when it comes to dating and men versus women. Us women can hardly do anything cause then we’re doing it wrong while men always seem to come out on top at the other side regardless what they’re doing.

I do not currently watch the show. I watched it long time ago and felt the women had self esteem issues. Crying on TV because they couldn’t get a man. How silly is this? It show low self esteem and too much like they were prostitutes and he is pimping himself. This is not the way to find real love or happiness in 30 minutes or an hour show? Where have all the morals gone? So it is not good to keep promoting shows like this because it sends the wrong message to young girls in how to conduct yourself while looking for a mate.

I agree with previous posts about this seasons the bachelor. I ‘googled’ the bachelor because I wanted to see if anyone was thinking the same think I was while watching the show. First, I feel Jason is not a real bachelor, he has already been married. I believe a bachelor is a man who has never lived with a woman and shared part of their life with them. Also, if he has custody of his son Jason’s life should focus around his sons for now. I feel like he is only on the show for the fame, good luck at finding love again.